


Rewriting What We Knew

by Queenoftheskittleholics



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Apple and Darling have an emotional conversation abt stuff, F/F, feelings are messy whats new, just a scene i wish we wouldve gotten in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 09:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18363680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenoftheskittleholics/pseuds/Queenoftheskittleholics
Summary: Growing up comes with certain plot twists, and Apple is realizing just how complicated making your own Happily Ever After can be.





	Rewriting What We Knew

Apple sits on the bench, deep in thought. What would she say? This was all so new to her. Before the Rebellion, there had never been any confusion about how things should be. The princess bites the apple, the prince wakes her with a kiss, and they live happily ever after, and so it goes. And while these uncertainties worried Apple, ironically enough, it was something apparently already destined that worried her the most: her Prince Charming had turned out not to be a prince after all.  
“Hello, Apple.” a pleasant voice interrupts her thoughts, no less pleasant for being the reason behind her anxieties. She looks up to see Darling Charming smiling down at her, and she can’t help but smile in return.  
“Darling! I’m so glad you could make it!” Apple says with a laugh that sounds strained to her own ears. Darling looks at her with concern.  
“Yes, is everything OK?” she asks, sitting next to her, and Apple almost reflexively replies yes before thinking better.  
“Well, I don’t know- it might be- it’s complicated and I just needed to talk to you, alright?” Apple says.  
“Ah, is this about…” Darling begins, and Apple nods.  
“I just never thought my True Love would be a girl!” Apple begins. “No offense to you, Darling, I mean you really are one of my dearest friends.” The two girls had known each other since they were children, as was to be expected of two of the land’s most prestigious families. And what with Darling being the sister of her supposed True Love, their friendship had seemed natural. Still it seemed there were things Apple didn’t know about Darling, like…  
“Did… you ever think about it?”  
“Oh- well, ah… I guess?” Darling says, pausing to think. “I mean, I know for me, I never really liked boys. All the nonstop professions of undying devotion really got annoying after a while.” The topic of admirers had always been one they disagreed on. Apple had found the boys’ attentions flattering, while Darling never spared more than a glance and a courteous yet sharp response. Apple had always found Darling’s reactions odd, but now it made sense.  
“I never minded… well the attention, really.” she admits. “And I always had Daring as an excuse.”  
Daring Charming was the golden boy, and most boys were content to pine for Apple at a distance, knowing they couldn’t compete with him. Apple had preferred it that way, and that technically she and Daring weren’t even dating suited her fine too. Still, the uncomfortable feeling about her lack of feelings for Daring had always troubled her deep down in her mind. Yet another thing that made sense now, she supposed.  
“So… do your parents know? About… you?” Apple asks tentatively, and Darling lets out a decidedly unladylike snort.  
“They haven’t pulled me out of school yet, have they?” She asks in amusement, then looks more serious. “No, they don’t. My parents haven’t really known anything about me in years. I don’t want to tell them, because they would not take it well at all.”  
“Oh…” Apple murmurs in response. She had never thought the Charmings to be the bad sort, but apparently there were a lot of things she had been wrong about.  
“How about Snow?” Darling asks. “Do you think she’d take it well?”  
Apple pauses to reflect on this question. Tradition and perfection had always been the way in the White castle. Something so unexpected would definitely upset Snow. Still, the story had just… taken an unexpected turn, and that was hardly something she could get upset with her for, right? And Snow had always tried to make sure Apple was happy, so if this made her happy, Snow could accept it, couldn’t she? But Apple realizes she honestly couldn’t predict how her mother would react, and feels a pit in her stomach as she adds her to a growing list of people she apparently didn’t know as well as she thought she did.  
“I feel like I should tell you something, actually.” Darling breaks the silence, and Apple turns to look at her. “I think, I think I’ve liked you for a long time. I mean… you’re pretty, and so smart, and one of the hardest working people I know.”  
“So you can be with me!” Apple exclaims, pleased that at least this question had worked out in her favor.  
“What?” Darling asks in surprise.  
“You just said you like me, and you already woke me up! That just proves we’re meant to be together! Oh this is a relief.” Darling looks at her, still taken aback by this shift in the conversation.  
“Whoa, Apple, I would really, really like to go out with you, but, we only really just found out about this. And that doesn’t even mean it’s right! I mean you thought you were destined to be with Daring and that was a lie!” Then she calms down. “I’m sorry, it’s just… sudden, you know?”  
Now it’s Apple’s turn to be taken aback by this unexpected response.  
“I know it’s sudden but if we like each other and it’s destiny than-”  
“Apple, stop. I- I can’t… do this with you.” Darling huffs, letting her shoulders slump.  
“What do you mean? You woke me up! We’re supposed to be together!” Apple cries, feeling the situation slip out of her hands.  
“That’s what I mean! Apple, I’ve spent my life trying to get away from destiny. Trying to be who I want, not who I’m supposed to be. And I’ve known you for a long time. You’re one of my closest friends, but I know how you are about the stories. About anything that doesn’t fit your plan. So if you just want to slide me into Daring’s old role for a neat happily ever after, I’m sorry, I’m just… not interested.” Darling responds quietly, turning to leave.  
“Wait!” Apple calls, and as any good Charming would, Darling stops for the princess. She doesn’t turn around though, and Apple fumbles to find the words to make her do so.  
“This is isn’t easy for me either. Daring and me, it... just never felt right. Everyone always said we looked so good together, we were both so perfect for each other, it was practically a done deal. I just hoped it would happen eventually like they said, but… it never did.” she stammers, and then takes a breath before continuing. “And now everything is up in the air. And I’ve realized… there’s some things I have to find out for myself. So, I like you, Darling! You’re clever and brave and kind, and also very pretty. But I won’t have to worry about competing for you with a mirror.” Apple says with a slight smile, and Darling lets out a laugh at the mention of one of her brother’s more annoying habits in spite of herself. Raven had called her a hypocrite once for commenting on it, but Apple defended herself with that fact that her mirror never left the room, unlike Daring’s ever present hand mirror. Still, she wasn’t finished. “That’s what I know. But I want to get to know the real you.”  
Here, Darling does turn, and she looks at her with a soft smile. Apple sits down on the bench, and motions for Darling to join her, which she does.  
“So, what do you want to know?” she asks.  
“Well, what made you want to start being a hero in the first place?” Apple wonders, and Darling looks thoughtful.  
“Well when I was a little girl, I always heard I should just be pretty and docile, but I never wanted that, so…”

**Author's Note:**

> I had feelings to project onto both Apple and Darling and so I wrote most of this around midnight please be nice. This is also because I felt like Darling would have her own feelings about being Apple's Charming. Also wrote this bc nobody else sees their relationship the way i did apparently.


End file.
